Water distributing



(No Model.)

J. S. MARSH.

WATER DISTRIBUTING, COLLECTING, AND FILTERING APPARATUS.

No. 367,051. Patented July 26, 1887.

I 2' Z I Z I y WITNESSES INVENTOR JamesSJVIarsh,

MM, 1 By his Attorneys n, PETERS. F'hulo-blhographnn Wilhi'lgiun. D. C.l

QIS

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES S. MARSH, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

WATER DlSTRIBUTlNG, COLLECTING, AND FILTERING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Application filed February 19,1887 T0 aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES S. ll/IARSH, of Philadelphia, in the county ofPhiladelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented eer tain new anduseful Improvements in \Vater Distributing, Collecting, and FilteringApparatus, of which the followingis a specification, reference being hadto the accompanying drawing.

The object of my invention is to provide means for running off impurewater and collecting pure water from roofs of buildings and filtering itfor drinking and other purposes. To this end Iprovide means, inconnection with ordinary roof-spouting, for running off into a sewer orelsewhere waste water, which first falls when a rain-storm begins,sufficient to wash off all the impurities which may be gathered upon theroof. Then I provide means for turning the current of water intoa tank,reservoir, or cistern, where it may be filtered, and after filtering maybe drawn off for use.

In connection with the apparatus described I provide means for testingand determining, before admitting water into a cistern, whether it isrunning free fromimpurities, such as are liable to be deposited uponroofs.

In the accompanying drawing is showna vertical central section of anapparatus em bodying my invention.

The drawing serves merely to illustrate the invention, the form of whichmay be varied to suit different situations.

Referring to the letters upon the drawing to aid in describing myapparatus, as illustrated in detail, A indicates a tank or cisterndivided into two compartments, Band C, which are separated by afiltering-partition, D, of any suitablekind. In practice I find thatclay or bricks form a very good filtering-partition. This partition ispreferably arched and rests on the bottom of the cistern and bearsagainst one side of it as illustrated. \Vhen built in this way it willsustain itself in place,without any braces or stays or specialappliances for the purpose, against the pressure of the water in thecompartment B. Such a masonry filter, constructed of porous material, isvery effective'and durable, in fact will last as long as the cisternitself. The partition D might extend up under the arch Y, as indicatedin dotted Serial No. 228,l87.

Patent No. 367,051, dated July 26, 1887.

(No model.)

E indicates a pipe provided with a cock for drawing water out of thecol'npartmcnt Gaffer it has been filtered. I

F indicates an iulet;pipe, which may be connected with the down spoutfrom a roof in any usual way. This pipe is provided with a cock, or itmight be a valve or cut-off, G, with a waste-pipe connection, H, andwith a small faucet, stopper, or cock, I, as shown.

K indicates an ovcrflow pipe to be connected with a sewer or otherdevice for conveying the water off the same, as by the wastepipe H.

The cistern,tank, or water-receptacle may be made of brick, stone, orother ordinary masonry and plastered on the inside with water-proofcement, or it may be made of wood or metal. In order to make aconvenientand secure covering, and at the same time provide an available openingin the top of the cistern, I make an annular casting, WV, flaringoutwardly at thetop, as shown, and provided with a lower annular flange,X. This casting is adapted to serve the function of a keystone of anarch. It will rest upon the upper part of the arch Yof the cistern, andthe flange X will project under the arch a short distance, so as tosupport or bind it, and at the same time prevent the casting from beingraised out of place. Instead of a continuous flange, lugs orprojections, either a part of the casting or attached to it, might servethe same purpose.

A lid, cap, or cover, Z, is applied over the casting to close theopening securely against the entry of surface water or any otherdeleterious substance into the cistern through the opening in thecasting. Often the casting and cover will be underground, and it isimportant to prevent dirty water from soaking into the cistern; so Iprovide an annular flange, Z, on the cover, which projects over the edgeof the casting \V, as shown. By means of the parts just described Iinsure a tight covering for the cistern, and at the same time a key forthe arching walls near its top.

The operation of my apparatus is as follows: Ordinarily in dry weatherthe cooks will all be closed. When rain begins to fall, the cock G beingclosed, the water will escape with any washings from the roof to theground or sewer out of pipe G. .Vhenitis supposed the water may berunning pure from the roof, the small cock I may be opened to examine itand to let off the small quantity of impure water that may be above thecock G, so that it may not get into the cistern. When the water is thustested and found to be pure, or as soon as it becomes pure-that is tosay, free from roof deposits-the cock I can be closed and the cock Gopened, which will cause the water to be delivered into the compartmentB of the cistern or tank. Thence it will pass through thefiltering-partition D and be deposited pure into the compartment (3,from which it may be drawn for drinking or other purposes.

It is preferable to make the compartment 0 small as compared with thecompartment B.

By means of my invention it will be practicable at little cost forpeople dwelling in cities to have pure rainwater to drink at all times,notwithstanding the impurities that collect in considerable quantitieson roofs and generally prevent the saving of rain-water in cisterns.This filtered water can be collected in cisterns in sufficientquantities for washing purposes, as well as drinking purposes, and thisin many cities which are at present provided with very impure water isof material consequence. It is a fact that water in the city ofPhiladelphia, for example, has to be filtered even for washing purposesin order to do a nice piece of work of that kind during certain seasonsof the year.

I am aware that it has been proposed here- Having thus described myinvention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patentof the United States, is

1. In a rainwater distributing and collecting apparatus, thecombination, with the tank or cistern A, of the inlet-pipe F, having thecock 0 and the small faucet or cook Land the waste-pipe H, substantiallyas set forth.

2. In a rainwater distributing and collecting apparatus, thecombination, with the tank or cistern A, of the inlet-pipe F and itscocks G and I, the waste-pipe H, overflow-pipe K,

filtering-partition D, and outlet-pipe Eand its cock, substantially asset forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name.

JAMES S. MARSH. Witnesses:

MARCUS S. HOPKINS, LLOYD B. WIGHT.

